Chapter 10. Generating User-Defined Workspaces 5:54

  • The workspace is the layout of panels in your application
  • Add, remove, drag off, tab together, stack and dock them in, next to, and on top of each other
  • Save your workspace with a name
    • Easily restore it
    • Love it
  • Implement your personal workflow here
    • Can’t wait for setting up a keycap workspace
  • Menubar lists all panels available
  • AI is so easy and nice to use

Chapter 9. The Illustrator Control Panel 3:29

  • That bar between the top section and the main area is called the control panel
    • Andy called it the control panel
  • You can let it float or drag it to the top or bottom
  • Provides context-sensitive information and control on the selected object
  • First part of the area remains the same
  • Second part of the area changes per-tool
  • Anything colored orange pops up a panel right there instead of on the right side
  • When you do a select all you can bulk transform all object fills and strokes mapping one color to another
  • Can add and remove controls from the control panel
  • Master this!

Chapter 8. The Illustrator User Interface 5:28

  • All about the user interface
  • Menubar: Pulldown menus
    • Click-and-do
  • Top
    • Bridge management
    • Arrange files differently
    • Workspaces: Pre-set screen configurations of Panels
  • Below-Top: Options Bar, for what you are doing
    • Configuration for the tool that you are using
    • Options bar: Possible things that can be on the bar
  • Left: Tools
    • Hover over a tool to get a popup with the keyboard shortcut for the tool
    • Arrow on lower right corners means that there is more to do
      • Access via
        • Click and hold
        • Option-Click cycles through the options
      • Can rip that off into its own menu to be positioned anywhere
  • Objects are composed of fills and strokes, that is the box and donut
  • Screen modes controls full-screen-ness
  • Panels
    • Pre-configured via Workspace
    • On the right side
  • Bottom: Artboard
    • Select them
    • Shows type tool
    • Customizable by clicking on arrow in the bar for each section

Chapter 7. Controlling Illustrator Through Preferences 11:03

  • Preferences make the program yours
    • More efficient
    • Faster because of hardware
    • Perfect your workflow
    • Change per workflow
  • Random valuable settings follow
  • Preferences key: Command-K
  • General
    • Keyboard increment
      • Arrow key moves by one increment
      • Shift-arrow moves by ten increments
        • Important for symbol placement on keycaps
      • Set to 0.1mm
    • Constraint angle sets the axis on which your tools draw
    • Precise Cursors sets default between gross and fine selection cursor
      • Hold caps-lock to access tool via hold-and-release
    • Scale Stroke and Effects controls whether or not effects resized when you resize the object with drag-and-resize
  • Sync Settings
    • Not on my box
    • Synchronizes between multiple boxes
    • Settings
      • How do we reset all of them?
        • Via here
        • Delete the Adobe Illustrator Prefs file, it will be regenerated on startup
      • Can we define different settings profiles?
        • Seemingly not
        • Could use Git
  • Units
    • Configured with: Millimeters
    • For everything
    • Identify Objects By: XML ID
      • Might make it easier to work with Inkscape/XML tools?
  • Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks
    • Can speed up image manipulation by dividing load between disks
    • Depends on disk speed
  • User Interface
    • Brightness themes
    • Custom: 64%
    • Tabs and not-auto collapse are good

Chapter 4. 0104 Top Ten Hits From Andy 7:49

  • Presenter’s name is Andy
  • Shares his favorite ten features
  • These are all new ideas so they are introductory for me
  • Context for me is
    • Keyboard templates
    • Logos and icons for just about everything
  • Top ten follows
  • Custom Toolbar
    • Of course, great idea, I only ever use three to give at least for keyboards
  • Pathfinder Options
    • Merge multiple simple objects into a single object
  • The Width Tool
    • Increase the width of a object interactively
    • Resize multiple parts
  • Rule Guides
    • Make guides
    • Is this for symbol layout on keycaps?
  • Duplicate Last Function
    • Nice for symbol placement
    • Store functions for symbol placement algorithm?
  • Gradient Mesh
    • Create multi-dimensional objects
  • Touch Type Tool
    • Modify individual characters as a unique object while remaining part of the original text
  • Appearance Panel
    • Always include this
    • Single panel for every aspect of the object
    • Is this where layers go?
  • Image Trace
    • Automatically convert an image to an object
  • Live Paint
    • Bucket fill for objects?
  • Look forward to my top-ten

Chapter 3. How You Will Learn And Working Files 3:53

  • Teacher shares his philosophy+strategy for learning followed by detailed advice on implementation
    • Discipline+perseverance+self-control
    • Great working files
  • Attitude is everything
  • Great recording quality
    • Speedy
  • Fonts are easy to read
  • Brown and yellow theme
  • Must follow lectures in order
    • Must grok before moving ahead
  • Bring your own goals into the training
    • Great reminder!